YOUNG or old, Disney has hit the hearts of many across the world but is there more behind the classic tales of Cinderella, Pocahontas and The Little Mermaid than first thought.

Disney historian Paula Sigman Lowery took some time out to discuss the key evolution of key Disney female characters and their reflection on the development of the modern woman.

Paula explained: "Walt and his animators looked for stories to tell, from fairy tales and fables and legends and historical personages and the universal truths that can be found there.

"As the role of women has expanded and changed, particularly in the 20th century and now the 21st century, the stories are tending to feature female characters who really take charge.

"They’re not all love stories anymore and they’re not all about the happy ending – they’re stories about characters standing up for their independence and for their right to live their lives as they want to live them and not just how they’ve been told. That’s a big change we’ve seen over the years.

"All of the characters have aspects in common, but they’re taking more charge of their lives. Cinderella actually started that trend because she’s the one who wants to go to the ball and works really hard to meet her stepmother’s demands; she’s doing what she can to change her future.

"Then you get into stories like The Little Mermaid, where you have a girl who has the same argument that my daughter would have with me: “This is my life and I want to live it!” Ariel’s father says: “As long as you live in my ocean you’re gonna live by my rules.”

"At that age girls are just beginning to explore their independence and push their limits, and that’s exactly what Ariel does. Then you get characters like Belle [in Beauty And The Beast] and Jasmine [in Aladdin] who are a little older and a little further along in their journey towards independence, and you get Pocahontas who is fully a woman and making her decisions for the world around her."

As Walt Disney opens its prestigious vault for the release of Cinderella its not hard to see how far Disney has come.

Paula added: "Fairy tale characters in general have always been incredibly important to young people growing up. They embody values and morals, and what Walt Disney did when he created new versions of them in animation was to keep that same thread of values that were represented in those fairy tales, and that’s what makes them universal and timeless.

"For young people growing up today, in addition to the stories they’re hearing told in schools and libraries, the Disney movies are perhaps the most recognised and most familiar translations of these stories worldwide.

"So in many ways it’s the Disney characterisation of figures like Cinderella and Snow White that have become models of those values and morals for young people.

"In Cinderella’s case, she’s a young woman who doesn’t have a lot of opportunity. Much as young people today are sort of finding their way in the world, with the feeling that perhaps they don’t always have the advantages they’d like to have, that’s something they see in Cinderella – and she has an indomitable spirit. She never lets the difficulties of her situation get her down, and that is something I think we do internalize.

"She’s just and she’s fair, and she’s always looking for the bright side; she never gives up hope and that is something that young people today can internalize.

"She also speaks to the older generation because they’ve grown up with those same values. She’s polite and kind, and she’s looking to make things better, even in the small world she inhabits. She’s trying to develop friendships between characters that don’t get along and those are things that we value."